đồ mặt dày

[ɗo˨˩ mat˧˨ʔ zɐi˨˩]insult, moral, character

What does đồ mặt dày mean? đồ mặt dày is a Vietnamese moderate that translates to “shameless person / thick-skinned bastard” in English.

thing thick face

01

"shameless person / thick-skinned bastard"

Your face is so thick that nothing — no embarrassment, no social pressure, no shame — can penetrate it. In a culture where 'mặt' (face) is everything, having a thick one means you've abandoned all social contracts.

Muttered between coworkers: 'Đồ mặt dày, lại đi xin xỏ nữa rồi.' (That shameless bastard is begging for favors again.)

Context

  • Casual conversations with friends
  • Informal settings where profanity is accepted
  • Direct confrontation (use with caution)

Avoid

  • Professional or formal settings
  • Job interviews, meetings, or customer-facing situations

Cultural Context

'Face' culture runs deep in Vietnam. Having 'thick face' doesn't mean courage — it means you're socially dead but refuse to acknowledge it. Office workers use this behind the backs of colleagues who take credit for others' work. It's the kind of insult that sounds almost clinical but cuts deep because it describes a permanent character flaw, not a momentary lapse.

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3 / 5homophobic, loanword

bê đê

[ɓe˧˧ ɗe˧˧]

fag / queer

Derived from the French word 'pédéraste'. It is the most ubiquitous term for a gay man or an effeminate male in Vietnam.

4 / 5action, sexual

xạo lồn

[sɐw˧˨ʔ lon˧˥]

bullshitting / talking out of your ass

Lying, boasting, or fabricating stories to look impressive. 'Xạo' means lying/fake; 'lồn' is added purely as an aggressive metric of magnitude.

5 / 5sexual, familial

địt mẹ mày

[ɗit˧˨ʔ me˧˨ʔ mɐi˨˩]

fuck your mother / motherfucker

The full Northern form with the target pronoun attached. If 'địt mẹ' is a grenade, adding 'mày' is pulling the pin and throwing it directly at someone's face. This isn't venting frustration — this is declaring war.

3 / 5internet, abbreviation

đm

[ɗe˧˥ em˧˥]

fuck / wtf

The texting abbreviation of 'đụ má.' Two letters that every Vietnamese person under 40 can decode instantly. It's become so ubiquitous in online spaces that it functions less as profanity and more as punctuation — surprise, frustration, emphasis, even approval.

4 / 5familial, exclamation

mẹ mày

[me˧˨ʔ mɐi˨˩]

your mother / fuck you

Just two words — 'your mother' — but in Vietnamese, this is a complete insult. You don't need to specify what about their mother. The implication hangs in the air, and everyone fills in the worst possible meaning. It's the loaded gun of Vietnamese profanity: the trigger is pulled by context.

5 / 5sexual, familial

địt mẹ

[ɗit˧˨ʔ me˧˨ʔ]

motherfucker / fuck your mother

Northern Vietnamese equivalent of 'đụ má.' Uses formal 'mẹ' instead of casual 'má,' making it more severe. The gravest insult in Vietnamese culture.

5 / 5anatomical, sexual

mặt lồn

[mat˧˨ʔ lon˧˥]

cunt-face / fuckface

Your face looks like female genitalia. It's as crude and direct as it sounds — a pure shock-value insult that combines the face (your public identity) with the most taboo body part. There's no subtlety here, just maximum offense per syllable.

4 / 5gendered, sexual

phò

[fɔ˨˩]

whore / thot

Northern Vietnamese slang for a sex worker. While 'đĩ' and 'điếm' are traditional dictionary words, 'phò' is pure street vernacular.